In the Heat of Night
by liviafan1
Summary: The biggest heat wave New York's seen in ages leads to a city-wide blackout, cranking the heat up between Castle and Beckett as the two are trapped on a subway. Oneshot. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

For erspoke over on Twitter, who asked me to write a blackout story based on this picture: 28(dot)media(dot)tumblr(dot)com/tumblr_lx2zoyo0Xr1qz6f9yo1_500(dot)jpg

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A hundred degree heat in the middle of April with no sign of letting up for at least a couple of days, the weatherman had said.

Which is how she ends up here, riding the subway with her dour partner. The AC in her Crown Vic is broken and neither of them is particularly willing to sit in her car in the middle of a goddamn heat wave.

Though she can't say this is much better.

"You'd think a little heat would deter the murderers for a while," Castle gripes, wiping the sweat from his brow.

But she doesn't want to hear it. She's tired and hot and it's _late_, so late. She wants to go home and sink into an ice bath full of denial and pretend like their relationship isn't the most fucked up it's ever been.

"Yeah, well, no one's forcing you to be here, Castle," she grates, wrapping a hand around the metal pole, despite her sitting position. The air is stifling and it presses down on her chest and her head, makes her dizzy. She and Castle are the only ones in the car, apart from a homeless guy who sleeps in his seat in the corner, dead to the world.

She tries to look at him, see through his silence, but the hum and flicker of the lights swims her senses, overwhelms her. She gasps a little sliding her head back to its previous position, rests it against the fist that wraps around the pole.

"You okay?" he asks. If she strains her ear, she might hear the touch of concern laced in his tone, but the slow drone of the car drowns it out.

"'m fine," she murmurs. She yanks at the collar of her tee shirt, needs a little release from the perspiration that coats her body. Her cotton pants help a little, but she wishes she'd worn a skirt or even a pair of shorts. She's desperate enough to sacrifice professionalism.

She lets out a relieved breath as the train slows to a halt in front of their stop. She trails after him slowly, averting her eyes from staring too longingly at his khaki shorts.

She doesn't bother to catch up to him, is content to hang back and keep her distance. The ache within her hasn't bothered to recede. Her heart still clenches at the hard lines in his shoulders, the firm set of his jaw, and the ice in his eyes.

She yanks her phone from her pocket, shoots Lanie a text to tell her that they'll be there in a few minutes. The lights flicker above, glaring over the screen of her phone.

"Is Alexis with Lanie tonight?" Kate asks, shoving the phone back into her pocket.

"No. She and my mother stayed in tonight with some ice cream and a movie marathon," he says almost wistfully.

She rolls her eyes. "I meant what I said earlier. You could've stayed home."

"Is that where you want me? At home?" he asks tersely.

She lets out a huff of disbelief, shaking her head. "Just forget it," she mutters. Her eyes fall to his sides as he tightens his fists, clenching them against his sides.

Makes two of us, Castle.

She steps onto the escalator, her stomach uneasy at the sensation. She takes a deep breath and presses a hand to the railing for purchase, hissing as the hot surface scalds her.

Suddenly, the escalator jerks to a stop and everything's dark as she rocks forward with the motion, colliding with Castle's firm back with a soft "Ooph." She wraps her fingers around his biceps, her heart racing at the sudden contact. He's so warm and _firm_ all over.

He whips his head to her, looking her over. "You all right?" he asks softly. There's no mistaking the concern this time.

She nods, a little breathless, as she fists the soft cotton of his tee shirt in her hands to right herself again.

"Shit," she breathes as she gets her bearings.

"Looks like a blackout," he observes on a sigh.

They're submerged in darkness and she can only barely make out his shape, breathing a little heavily next to her. She wonders if their proximity caught him off guard, too. Her body's thrumming with nervous, sexual energy.

"Think there are people trapped in the cars?" he asks.

"Maybe," she admits, her mind flashing to the homeless man they'd left behind on the car. "Remember '08, though? Only a few of them were out of service."

"I'm gonna try to call Ryan and Esposito before the lines jam."

"Good idea."

He curses only seconds later, removing the phone from his ear. "Nothing."

She scrubs a hand down her face in exhaustion. "Must be city-wide."

"Do you have a signal? Maybe we can get a text through to somebody."

The light from her phone makes her wince, flashing her retinas. "Nothing."

"Let's just try to make it out to the street," he offers.

She hesitates in her silence, which he picks up on. "What?"

"I-" she sighs. "I'm really lightheaded. I don't trust myself to make it out of here safely," she admits.

"You're serious?"

She rolls her eyes. "Yes."

"Even if I lead us out of here?"

She huffs a frustrated breath. "_Yes__, _Castle."

"Looks like we're stuck here, then," he says flatly.

She swallows her frustration. At least he's staying with her. "Yeah." She plops down onto the step, turns her body so her head is resting and she's facing him. She's pissed off at him, definitely, but she's also tired and hungry and—

He's all she's got right now.

"Kinda wish I'd stayed home now," he jokes as he makes himself a spot next to her. She chuckles harshly because it's not funny, not even a little bit, not after their sparring.

"You'd leave me here alone?" she asks, forcing her tone to remain light. She sees his head snap to hers, can't make out his expression, but can feel his glare boring into her face.

"You know I wouldn't," he growls.

She hums noncommittally as she lets her eyes slide closed. Her stomach growls, loud and voracious.

"When _was_ the last time you ate?" he asks.

She racks her brain, her memory flipping through the bottomless cups of coffee and a few sticks of chewing gum to tide her over til she could get her hands on real food.

"Lunch yesterday, I think," she admits. No point in lying to him about it.

"You need to eat, Kate."

She groans. "Yeah, thank you, Doctor." And then, because she can, "I can take care of myself."

He lets out a dark laugh. "Yeah, I've noticed."

Her eyes flick open. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he mutters. "It means nothing, Kate."

His surrender socks her in the gut because _dammit_, she just wants him to fight for them.

For her.

Minutes pass without a word from either of them. Her eyes are starting to get heavy and she just wants to sleep and wake up in her own bed with the AC on as high as it'll go. She closes her eyes, can almost feel the cold sheets slipping over her naked body as she falls into a deep sleep, his arms wrapped around—

Oh.

"I can hear you nodding off over there."

She raises her eyebrows. "How can you 'hear' me nodding off?" she asks skeptically, her mouth widening in a yawn.

"You snore."

She scoffs. "I do not snore."

"Yeah, you do. Just—little noises in the back of your throat." He pauses. "You're drooling a little, too, aren't you?"

She wipes the back of her hand across her mouth, won't give him the satisfaction.

"Come here," he urges.

"Why?"

"You'll get a crick in your neck if you keep that up. Come _here_."

She groans. "Castle—"

"Kate."

So she slides over a few inches so that her body is pressed against his. The heat rolls off his body in waves and she just wants to sink into him, let his body consume hers in a slow-burning fire.

He hesitates a little, wrapping his right arm loosely across her back to settle at her waist.

"What exactly are we accomplishing here?" she breathes.

She feels him shrug. "I've gotta be more comfortable than an escalator, right?"

Mmm. Yeah. She rests her head on his shoulder, notes the way he stiffens as she can't help but nuzzle into his side a little.

Just a little something to take the edge off.

"Relax, Castle," she murmurs as her eyes flutter closed once again. "Promise I won't bite." And again, because she can, "Hard."

She feels his body relax a little and his hand presses into her more firmly now, a little bolder. She hums at the contact, feels her body responding to his touch.

God, she needs him.

His fingers brush under the lip of her tee shirt, skimming her skin gently. She groans, sliding her hand to his thigh, scraping her fingernails against his khakis.

She feels his breath hitch as she clings to him a little harder, pulls him a little closer.

"Kate, what are we doing?" he murmurs, his breath hot against her forehead, inches from where she wants him.

"When did you stop wanting me, Castle?" she rasps, lifting her head to nuzzle in the crook of his neck. She presses a kiss there, her tongue darting out to lick the salt from him.

He clenches her hip, hard and bruising as his other hand slips under her shirt to slide over her belly, lighting her skin on fire.

His breath chokes at her words as he leans down to press his mouth to a spot above her ear. "Never stopped, Kate," he whispers.

She moans, shifting slightly to press her hungry mouth to his. His response is swift and consuming as he slides his hands up through her hair, angling her mouth just the way he likes it, so he can slip his tongue against hers.

She sighs into him, her blood singing through her veins. It's a little rough, a little desperate, but it's all _him_, all Castle. The man she loves.

"You have no idea how long—"

"Oh, yes, I do," she whispers between kisses.

"Promise?" he rasps, fisting her hair desperately in his hands as he sips on her neck.

Oh, Castle.

She reaches down to pull him up to her face again. She swipes her thumb under his eye, presses a chaste kiss to his lips, lingering at the line of his jaw as it slips into a slow smile.

"I promise."

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**Thoughts?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I hadn't really planned on adding to this, but ask and ye shall receive.**

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She's on top of him now, rolling her hips against his, her mouth pressed feverishly to his. His breath hitches as her fingers climb under his tee shirt to smooth across his stomach.

"Kate," he mutters breathlessly, his fingers pressed tightly against her back, bruising her.

She hums in response, nipping at his neck, soothing the offended flesh with her tongue. He closes his eyes on a gasp, overwhelmed by the sensations.

"Shouldn't we talk?" he offers weakly, a bead of perspiration trickling down his spine. He's hot, so very hot, but he can't bring himself to pull them apart, needs to feel her limbs tangled with his, her skin pressed against his.

She latches onto his ear then, flicking her tongue across the lobe. "What's there to talk about?" Her voice is deep, dripping with sex and—

_Fuck_.

His hands palm her backside, tugging her even closer to him. He groans, panting gently at the proximity of her body against his.

"What are we doing?" he grinds out.

"Hopefully something we can finish when someone gets us out of here," she rasps, her hands slipping around to scrape against his back.

"Jesus Christ, Kate," he breathes, claiming her mouth again. She tugs at his bottom lip as her hands slide through his hair, bowing his mouth further into hers. She hums in pleasure and it sends a jolt through his body, curling all the way down into his toes.

He can't—

God, the things she does to him.

And they'd been at each other's throats only minutes (has it been minutes? Maybe hours. He's lost himself in the sensation of her thighs wrapped around his, of her soft mouth pressed against his, of her nails digging into his skin.) before.

His head is spinning now and he _really_ thinks they should talk or something but—

She's magnetic. Every time she slides against him, he's right there with her. When she shifts away just a little, he's moving with her, against her. When she emits the little noises of pleasure, he's all too happy to echo her in the deep rumble of his chest.

But they—

They're sheltered here, protected against the forces of real-life. He needs to take advantage of that while there's still time. He doesn't want to slip out into the stifling New York air on shaky ground.

He sighs into her, pressing one last bruising kiss (just for the road) to her lips before pulling back. Her mouth follows him, her eyelashes fluttering as she breathes heavily against him, lips swollen.

"Where you goin'?" Her voice is sleepy, raspy—all sex—and he has to clench his fists against his side to keep from hauling her against him again, pressing her into the escalator right where he needs her.

He grips her hips and pulls her off him, settling her down next to him. He watches as she swallows her hurt, questions written all over her face.

She clears her throat. "You okay?"

He scrubs a hand down his face. "I just—" He pauses. "I need to know where we stand before I—before we—" He sighs. "One time will kill me, Kate. It'll tear me apart."

And then she's smiling and (_Wait._) and clutching his cheeks beneath her warm palms. "What makes you think I ever plan on letting you go, Castle?" she asks softly, and it's still so dark, but he swears he can see the light flooding her eyes in the darkness.

"You like me?" he blurts out stupidly.

Her body shakes with laughter and he can feel the happiness spilling out of her pores. "I might just love you, Castle." She pauses as he sucks in a breath. "I _do_ love you," she breathes, her fingers tracing the soft edges of his face reverently.

And then he's pulling her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug because _God_, he doesn't even need sex tonight because he's got _her_. He just wants to slip beneath cold sheets and slide his arms around her, press his hand to her heart as she sighs against him.

He's got her.

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Ryan and Esposito find them an hour later, stunned into silence at the sight of her with her head in his lap, sleeping soundly (and yeah, she's drooling but he can't bring himself to care in the slightest). Castle's silent, doesn't even chortle when Ryan almost drops the flashlight.

He lifts Kate from his lap, pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead as her eyes flutter against her cheek.

"Time to go home," he says quietly.

"Mmm." She flicks an eye open, throwing Ryan and Esposito a look that would normally be intimidating but is only adorable in her sleepy state. "Not a word of this tomorrow."

"Us?" Ryan scoffs, almost offended. She rolls her eyes, shaking her head as she lets out a small laugh.

He helps her to her feet, stretching his stiff muscles as Ryan and Esposito lead them into the night.

He wraps an arm around her, pulling her closer.

"You comin' home with me tonight, Castle? I've got the good stuff," she murmurs, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Central Air?"

"You know it."

He groans. "You sure know how to entice a man, Katherine Beckett."

_Finis_

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**Thanks for reading. **

**Olivia**


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